The Girl With The Raven Mask

As many other reviews have stated there is a definite retro-Psychedelic Doom Metal vibe going on in this album, especially the presence of organ music buoying nearly every song, the poetic lyrics reminiscent of those long-gone, experimental, drug-induced songcraft hazes of yesteryear. Its all done well, with strong production sound and good musicianship, but it does not come across as original in any way, more like an homage to the band's favorite influences. I thoroughly enjoyed their eponymous debut album more than this second excursion, as it felt new and interesting and less of a rehash of past ideas. That is not to say this is irrelevant, as Avatarium is a talented group doing whatever they want, regardless of popular opinion. That, at least, is admirable. Honestly, however, in the future, if I feel the need for an Avatarium fix, I will grab their debut album first, over this new release, seven days a week. Solid work, just not amazing.

A lot of people are not happy about this album because none of the songs sounds like Girl with the Raven Songs.Honestly, this is one of the best rock albums i heard in a while. It's not an easy listening. The songs don't have the typical structure. Verse / chorus / verse / chorus / middle / chorus.It's a beautiful combo of classic rock like Black Sabbath also has some doom influences some punk here and there.Great instrumentals, beautiful voice...perfect trip for me. Turn off the light and plug the earphones.

As hard as I thought it would be for them to follow up their masterful first disc, this one just picked up from there and floored it. Vocals are immaculate and Jennie-Ann Smith is one of those rare sort of subrosa talents that I wish had a lot more out there. Utterly fantastic and the music, from the incomparable Leif Edling, is as fitting and strong a statement as ever there was. One of the best discs put out by anyone.

Finally, the wait is OVER with the arrival of Avatarium's "Raven Mask". The follow up to G&R's "Appetite for Destruction", purity, dynamics, mind blowing ROCK at the apex, rarely achieved or heard. Expect to the core, to be thrown down, spun around, shaked & nailed. OMG! A number one contender for revitalizing ROCK as WE knew it! Do you feel?

A superb hybrid of 60's era hippie vibe and the magnificent doom we have come to expect from Leif Edling. You feel like you have been transported back in time to about 1968 and I mean that in a great way. Think - Candlemass meets The Grateful Dead meets Steppenwolf and you might be close.A big shout out to Jennie-Ann Smith on vocals. Her voice has power yet has a sultry huskiness that again evokes the 1960's.Highly recommended.

THIS is a game changer band. Many bands are operating in what is now a heavily overcrowded female fronted genre, you can divide the genres/subgenres until you get giddy in the head, but take it from somebody who has been into Heavy music since the mid sixties, the TRUE trailblazers get harder to find, and since I spend hundreds of bucks each month reading all the Euro Metal/Rock/Blues mags, I get to hear stuff via the free cd's/downloads. I only say this as a way of reinforcing my view of this band as being something special. So many babble about creating "atmosphere" that for me after over 50 years of listening and playing on a high level that I have to stifle a laugh, but THIS act HAVE gotten it right. This IS Heavy, but with that oh so elusive balance of light and shade that so many blither about, and yet FAIL to nail. Perhaps it's because of the CANDLEMASS connection, perhaps it's the truly unique voice/world view of vocalist Jennie- Smith, it's hard to put one's finger EXACTLY on it, and THAT alone tells me that this is unique, music now is VERY calculating, there's very little of that old "let fly and wail" attitude that marked the 60's and 70's, even though it seems that everybody and his dog are TRYING(and mostly FAILING) to n it. I think that one sadly lamented band that DID nail this value was THE DEVIL'S BLOOD, but AVATARIUM is right there, as are BLUES PILLS and a select few others, and it's the LADIES that are leading the way, METAL is perhaps the ONLY musical genre where gals can just flat out go for it without being programmed robots like EDM/DANCE or any other genre. So take it from a grizzled older Metal head, this is the total *&^%, it's great headphone music, I predict BIG things for JENNIE-ANN and the boys, this cuts through the dross like a diamond drill, it IS that good. As we used to say back in the day, "buy, or die!"

Great album. Note that this edition DOES NOT have the Led Zeppelin cover track as a hidden track, with some other editions do.

Love the title track! This cd was not what I expected from the driving force in Candlemass.

Avatarium’s self-titled debut album, released in 2013 was one of the best albums ever released in the doom metal genre in my humble opinion so naturally I was looking forward to The Girl With The Raven Mask. It certainly had a lot to live up to and wasn’t going to be easy to better it. Well, I guess Avatarium have done the smart thing and released an album that’s totally different.Their debut album was built on the incredibly heavy and powerful riffs of guitarist Marcus Jidell and the first thing you notice here is the keyboard work of Carl Westholm is much more prominent and on an equal footing to the guitars. These songs are still heavy though they take on a more retro vibe and the psych element is more evident. Another great thing about their debut was plenty of light and shade in the songs and that’s still the case here, if not more so, perfectly highlighted in two of the best tracks on the album, The January Sea and Pearl’s And Coffin’s, both of which feature early on after the opening title track which captures the band at their most commercial and accessible. The Girl With The Raven Mask is also an early indicator that the band won’t be restrained by the restrictions of the slow tempos associated with doom metal.One of the biggest revelations of their debut was the stunning vocal performance of then unknown Jennie-Ann Smith who not only has power but infuses each song with feeling and vocal dynamics. If anything, she is even better here having had time to develop her vocal skills out on the road no doubt. The band as a whole are on great form and all turn in strong performances as you’d expect from such seasoned pros.There’s no denying the quality of this album and I take my hat off to Avatarium for not repeating the same formula as their debut. I think I prefer the debut slightly over this one, partly down to a couple of tracks that aren’t quite on the same level, Iron Mule being the weakest, though in a lesser band would still be a triumph. This is a minor quibble though and such is the quality of TGWTRM it’s going to be in my top 10 albums of the year barring an unlikely late rush of strong albums I’ve yet to hear. Doom metal purists are also likely to prefer the first album but anyone with an open mind for heavy music in general will almost certainly be impressed by this excellent album.

really good

Arrived in mint condition a modern twist and definitely influenced of 70's Rock bands vocals are sublime!!

Very, very good album!!!!

very good!

excellent Retro Album, with greetings from Rainbow and early Uriah Heep ...

excellent cd

CD is great, but there is only live concert on DVD.

Excellent

super

Le bassiste Leif Edling est surtout connu pour être l'âme de cette formation essentielle du Doom Metal qu'est CANDLEMASS.Cependant, au fil des ans, il a fondé plusieurs autres formations : ABSTRAKT ALGEBRA (un album en 1995), KRUX (trois albums studio et un live de 2002 à 2011) et enfin AVATARIUM (un premier album en 2013 et deux EP). L'accueil critique réservé au premier album du groupe insistait sur la qualité de l'écriture, qui s'éloignait du Doom Metal de stricte obédience, ainsi que sur l'interprétation superbe de la chanteuse Jennie Ann Smith, à des années-lumière des clichés habituels (sans oublier les performances du guitariste Marcus Jidell et du claviériste Carl Westholm).On retrouve sur « The Girl With The Raven Mask » ces mêmes ingrédients, avec le même succès, mais l'effet de surprise est désormais dissipé. Ajoutons que l'écriture et l'enregistrement se sont déroulés dans un contexte tout sauf serein pour Leif Edling, celui-ci étant malade (dépression ?). Du coup, outre son absence lors des tournées de CANDLEMASS et d'AVATARIUM, il n'a pas enregistré la totalité des parties de basse sur cet album : étrange sensation que de constater ce désengagement... Cependant, il a composé l'intégalité des huit titres, lesquels portent évidemment sa marque de fabrique.L'entrée en matière tranche quelque peu avec le reste de l'album puisque ce morceau qui donne son titre à l'album déroule sur un tempo rapide, avec une interprétation vivace, impérieuse et une approche directe, avec même des ah ah au moment du refrain. Autre titre à part, « Run Killer Run » dans lequel on évolue presque dans du Heavy Metal classique, avec un riff très simple et rêche, un tempo médium très marqué : direct, basique, pas mauvais du tout.Pour la suite, on trouve plusieurs compositions bâties sur un principe général assez identique, à savoir une alternance de moments plutôt calmes, mélodiques et subtiles et de passages très lourds, dominés par une section rythmique et des riffs pesants ou sinueux, lourds toujours. Preuve que l'exercice est désormais rôdé, Pearls And Coffins me rappelle quelque peu le magnifique « Moonhorse » sur le premier opus.Dans ce jeu d'équilibre parfaitement dosé, les claviers de Carl Westholm fournissent à tour de rôle de l'épaisseur et de la densité dans les moments les plus lourds (écoutez les riffs de « Pearls And Coffins », hérités de URIAH HEEP), ou au contraire tissent des mélodies inquiètes, apportent des touches mélancoliques et fantomatiques (sur « Hypnotized » notamment).Devenue l'égérie du groupe jusque dans le visuel, Jennie Ann Smith délivre une performance pleine de puissance, d'expressivité mélancolique et de subtilité, fuyant les vocalises acrobatiques, sa technique pouvant lui permettre de caresser et de laisse libre cours à sa puissance. Dans ses lignes de chant, il n'y a jamais rien de démonstratif, de superfétatoire, chaque inflexion, chaque nuance, chaque envolée est en service des compositions et des ambiances. Elle est en majesté sur « Ghostlight », atteint des sommets de douceur sur « Iron Mule » (avec le soutien vocal discret mais pertinent de Marcus Jidell, son mari au civil), fait montre de subtilité tout au long de l'épaississement progressif qui caractérise le rampant « The Master Thief ».Au sein de cet exercice de style parfaitement maîtrisé, on relève également le jeu varié du guitariste Marcus Jidell qui livre notamment un solo incandescent, digne des meilleurs moments de Ritchie Blackmore, sur « Hypnotized ». Le bonhomme a excellemment produit l'album mais on aimerait qu'il ose encore plus sortir du strict cadre Metal. Un des meilleurs moments de cet album est « Ghostlight » où Jidell et Westholm se livrent à des entrechats feutrés en introduction, la guitare sonnant comme du Ry Cooder sous mescaline, les plages douces situées entre les gros riffs se révélant psychédéliques : guitare acide et calviers aux sonorités troubles. J'aime également son feeling bluesy au début de « Pearls And Coffins ». Je pense que l'héritage blues, progressif ou psychédélique des années 70, que l'on sent sous-jacent, représente une excellente piste de progression pour AVATARIUM. Car le troisième album devra impérativement trancher davantage avec ses deux prédécesseurs pour renouveler les perspectives. En attendant, savourons cette œuvre solide et expressive, porteuse de beaucoup de noirceur, d'énormément de mélancolique et d'un peu de lumière.

Poteva essere un disco migliore, manca di una buona registrazione... A momenti sembra che la musica abbia rumori di sottofondo e che sia storpiato. Per un gruppo che fa un genere non facile, dovrebbero prestare attenzione che venga curata la registrazione. Comunque mi piacciono meglio gli altri album che hanno fatto. A mio giudizio tre stelle e non di più

Dieses Album ist wirklich spannend! Die ersten beiden Songs, power, klasse! Der Titelsong "Girl with the Raven mask" ist der absolute Hammer!!! Dann kommen zunehmend auch ruhige Passagen, dann Wechsel zum Schnelleren. Ungewöhnlich! Ich gebe zu, am Anfang war ich irritiert. Aber um so öfter ich das Album gehört habe, um so besser fand ich es. Jetzt bin ich begeistert! "Pearls and Coffins" ist der stille Gewinner dieses Albums. Eine außergewöhnliche Stimme. Beim Hören werde ich irgendwie auch an frühere Zeiten von Black Sabbeth, Deep Purpel und Uriah Heep erinnert. Volle 5 Sterne!!!

One of the best bands out there in a moment. Fantastic album, with a very fresh sound,yet borrowing from long gone times. I can't get enough of it.

:-)